Flaw detecting apparatus



0cr.29,1940. .w.. BARNES mL 2,219,885- C FLAW DETEGTINGWAPPARATUS Flied Oct l1 1937 b* K I Patented oct. 29, 1940 y Y y 2,219,885 Y Y l FLAW DETEcTmGAPrARATUs i vWalter C. Barnes, Lake Blui, and 'Henry W.

Keevil, Highland Park, 111.",

Application october 11, 1931, sei-lama. 168,892

12 claims. (ci. ris-{ iss) `In testing rails for flaws bygelectrlcalv and magnetic methods, experience Vteaches I that the "speciilc character of the railover which the appara- `tus passes dictates to a large extent the particular kind of a flaw responsive device (usuallyl a coil) which should beused., On some rails, a single longitudinal coilmay be used; on other rails, two coils spaced apart agiven distance will give superior results. Therelare a great number of combinations in coil arrangementl which are constantlybeing used and Iit has been the practice t0 mount theA coils on'theiloor of a hollow box holding them in place` by paraflin or some other sealingmeans. But whenever a Vchange inthe 1,3 coil arrangement became necessary or desirable', considerable time was required to effect the change. As a matter offact, it .is often found more 'convenient to carry a plurality o! pickup boxes, each containing a different coil arrangement, and then change the entire box'whenrail conditions require a different; combination of coils.

The present invention'seeks to simplifythe problem by providing a. single box -which is adjustable to various .positions with reference to the detector carriage from'which it is supported, and to which coils may be fastened in various positions. W v

Further and otherl objects and advantages will become apparent asthe disclosure proceeds and the v`descriptionis read in Lconjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which -f Fig. l is a side elevational viewof a detector carriage and pickup Sbox embodying the principles of this invention:

Fig. 2 is a perspective vi'w of the inneror'under surface of the cover jfor the pickup box showing one of the many possible `coil arrangements;

Fig. 3 is aperspective view of the pickup box l with a fragment broken away to show the i'loor Yof the boxj and l' Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, Asectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1,'showing the means for adjusting 'the pickup box laterally with respect to the detector carriage.

' The invention may obviously be embodied in various forms, and the specific illustration` chosen for description should not be vregarded as imposing limitations on the appended claims unless required by the prior art.

It is well known that latent flaws in rails may be located from a suitably equipped movingcar if the flaw is properly magnetized by a. flux sent through the rail, or if the portion of the rail containing the-flaw is subjected to a Vstrong velectriran' joints.

ling a sealy edge.

cal current whichproducesa characteristiczmagnetic conditionln the yicinity ofrthe flaws .Since this invention is lnot* cbncerned 4'with :the means for establishing the desired f 'magnetic condition in vthe' vicinity of theflaw;V but isbnlyconcern'ed 5 with the detecting apparatus; it fis' unnecessary to illustrate or describe the known f'methods'of obtaining these particular magnetic conditions.

The iiaw detecting apparatuslof detector cars used for locatingv flaws itrrail ordinarily includes 10 ya detector carriage, hereindicatedi-'at I0,'which in the present instancecomprises a brass.' or bronze casting having legs?! Ifand'l2 to' which hardened steel shoes, preferably o'fh'cast" manganesevsteel,

are removably secured byclips-IS and bolts'vl4. 15

The intermediate portion-of th'edtector carriage I0 is raised to accommodate-thepickup box, genv 'erally'designatedf l 5, whichf'ls supported :from the .detector carriage b yffour 'stainlessisteelstudbolts YI6 secured at their-lower 'ends'tocross'plates l1 20 andpassing through thefhorizontalnan'ges "Ill which extend on' opposite si'desof"the central web l 9 of the intermediate yportiony of the detector carriage.y Adjusting nuts 20* enab1e-.tl"1e"cross `plates I1,to"'beadjustab1y positionedffvertically 25.

with'respect tothe detector carriagefand springs y.,

2| serve theclual purpose of making certain-that the crossplates l1 :occupy the lowest position which thenuts 20 oiithe studs "permit andresiliently allow the pickup-,box to i'nove upwardly 30 in the eventthat theb'ox strikes somekind'of al r projection, such for example as a high rail joint. The pickup `box l5 is preferably cast in brass, although it may be formed of moldedakelite or other relatively hard vplastic material. The ends 35- of the,box are provided with inclined lbumpersv 22y which facilitate theA riding ofthe'box over high The box is supported on the cross platesill byy flanges 423, each provided withf-slots 24 40 through which fastening screws 25 extend-in 'en-:f1 tering the cross plates Il with which they arefin threaded engagement; Obviously, by. loosening the screws 25, suitable lateral adjustmenty ofr the pickupbox with reference-'to the detector '.car- 45.'

riage may be made.v` This adjustmentis impor-4* tant .particularly where rail is encountered-hav- The boxv l5 has a -cover26 preferably. of` linen base Bakeliteto Ythe inner face of which the de- 50 coils being so designated `because of their posi- Y l tion withl respect to the longitudinal axis of the rail. The coils are supported by brackets, generallydesignated 29, each being formed of sheet metal, preferably brass, and formed to provide downwardly extending legs 30, 3|, 32 and 33 with an intermediate portion 34 having longitudinal slots 35 and 36 by means of which the brackets are longitudinally positionedpon `the under surface of the cover 26. Small retaining blocks 31 held in piace by screws 38 constitute with. .the slots 35 and 36 the so-called pin and slotde vice Aby which the supports are capable of longitudinal adjustment with respectito the cover.

A fixed bar 46 assists in maintaining proper alinement of the brackets. j ,a

l The coil 21 is shown as having a core terminating in laterally extending `armsj3i|whichturn downwardly to provide feet 40, alias disclosed in Keevil Patent No. 2,089,967.` The core for the coil 21 also has a,v centrally 4disposed downwardly extending leg 4|. The feet 4U of the core are secured to the legs 30, 3|, 32-and33 of the supf port 29 by screws 42 which pass through slots 43 'coils on the brackets 29.-' l z v A1thoughlongitudinal and transverse coils have'l been showngmountedonv the brackets'29, it is apparent thatothenkinds of coils could be used in place -oi either the longitudinal or the transverse coil, such for example asV a coil hav'- ing its core extendingbetween Athe l'egs 30 and 33, or between-the legs 3|. and 32 of the coil support bracket. The coils, might also be provided with cores which are fastened-to the legs of the ksupport; bracket in such a manner that they are vertically tilted with respecttto the top surface of the rail. i v

-The cover 26 of the box is'Y provided with' a plurality of brass terminals 45 tothe lower portion ot which the leadsirom the coils arev se- ,cured and` to the upper part of which the connections with the recording apparatus areestablished v It will be seen from the above description that an innite variety of coll (or other aw detecting device) arrangements maylbe conveniently made in the pickup box; that the pickupV box can be readily adjusted laterally with respect to the rail; that the adjusting nuts 20 onthe studs lspermit the vertical position of the pioimp` box to beadjusted relative to the detector'carriage; and that the adjusting nut 20 can be manipulated .to provide any desired lateral or longitudinal tilting of.the 'pickup box., This universal adjustability and aptitude for various combinations of coils greatlyliacilitatesI and speeds up testing of the rails', We claim:

l. In arail flaw detecting apparatus, an elongated pickup box valigned with ,said rail, a cover for the box, av pair of Vcoil supports mountedon the innerface'of the `cover and capable of longitudinal adjustment relative to one another, and means for mounting a coil on each of said supports.

2. In a rail flaw detecting apparatus, a' pickup `ioox'aiign'ed with said rail, a cover for the box, a pair of coil supports mounted on the inner face of the coverjand capable of longitudinal adjustment relative to one another, and means for mounting a coil on each of said supports, said last named means including means for varying V.the distance between one of the coils and the cover.

rv3. In flaw detecting apparatus. a pickup box, a cover lfor the box, and a coil support lmounted on the inner face of the cover, said support comprising a bracket having a plurality of longitudinally` spaced vertical legs to which a' coil is adapted to be secured in any one of a number of angularly disposed positions. d

4. In flaw detecting apparatus, a pickup box, a coverforV the box, and a coil support mounted on the inner face of the cover, said support comprising a bracket havingl a plurality of longitudinally spaced vertical legs to which a coil is adapted to,L be secured, said legs being arranged Vand shaped so that they are lcapable of attachment tocoils having cores which make various vhorizontalvand vertical angles with the axis of the 5.7111 flaw detecting apparatus'a pickup box, a cover'for the box, anda' coil support mounted on the inner face ofthe cover,'said support comprising a bracket having atleast four downwardly extending legs,` two of which farelongitudinally spaced from two others, and the legs of one of the two groupsv being transversely 'spaced apart 'whereby the legs are capable of attachment to coils having cores which makevarious angles with respect to the longitudinalaxis of the box.

6. In fiawdetecting apparatus, a detector carriage, a pickup box, aflaw detecting device-in the box, and means for supportingthe box from the carriage and for adjustably positioning itin A.various lateral and longitudinal tilting positions with respect to a horizontal plane, and means for adjustingL thelateral position of the box relative to the carriage. f

7. .In flaw detecting apparatus, a detector carriage, a vpickup box', a flaw detecting device in the rbox, and means for supporting the box fromthe carriage and for adjustably positioning it in various lateral and longitudinal tilting positions with respect tothe horizontal plane, and means for adjusting. the lateral position of the boxv relative to the carriage, said means including a pin and slot device. t v A l 8. Iniiaw detecting apparatus, a vdetector carriage,'apickup box, a flaw `detecting device in the box, means for supporting the box from'the carriage and for adjustably positioning it in various lateral and longitudinalitilting positions with respect to the horizontal plane, means for adjusting the lateral position of the box relative to the carriage, said means including a pin and slot device, and means for adjusting thevertical position of 4tl'ie'box relativeto the carriage.

. 9. In a rail aw detecting apparatus, a pick-up box aligned with said rail, a cover for the box, a

pair of coil supportsmounted on the inner face' of 65 the cover, guide means forlocating the supports in predetermined relationship to the rail, means for moving the supports Yalong the guide means independently of ,each othenand means upon each support for securinga coilthereto in'any one of a plurality of iixed positions between the rail and the cover..

l0. In va'rail 'flaw detecting apparatus, a pickup box having raside aligned withthe rail, a guide inside the box aligned with the rail on said side,

12.111 a rail aw detecting means, a pickup box adapted to be supported in fixed relation to a rail, a cover for the box, a pair of coil supports adjustably mounted on the cover for relative movement with-respect to one another, and means for mounting a coil' on eachof said Asupportsl including means-for varying the relative positions v of the coils on the supports independently of each other in a vertical direction above the rail.v

WALTER. C. BARNES. 1o

HENRY W. 

